#This whole fic isn't going to be from LQR's pov

[wangxianficfinder]

I'm in the mood for...

Aug 21st

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1. hii! ITMF fics where the cultivation world finds out the truth about the Wen remnants in burial mounds either through a memory viewing/array spying thing at a discussion conference or someone personally visiting the burial mounds and sees the truth for themselves. Some of the fics I've enjoyed that has this: A Step in the Wrong Direction by pupeez4eva, Revealing Truth by DreamNightmare, The Path by Seastar98, Green-gege Saves a lot of Lives by Eternal_writes, Righteous at a Cost by thunderwear

Teen Project to Change the World by animeloverhomura (Not Rated, WIP, 841k, WangXian, JYL/JZX, Watching the Show, With a bit of the Manhua and Book thrown in, BAMF WWX, Fix-It, JGS is his own warning, Attractive WWX, Homophobia, disturbing imagery)

Misunderstood by Silver_Flame_2724 (M, 250k, WIP, WangXian, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Heavy Angst, Suicidal Thoughts, Canon-Typical Violence, Self-Worth Issues)

Discordant Rhapsody by nirejseki (T, 49k, LQR & WWX, wangxian, JC & WWX, WQ & WWX & WN, LWJ & LQR & LXC, canon divergence, fix-it, hurt/comfort, trauma, politics, protective LQR, protective LWJ, protective WWX, LQR centric, whump, angst)

Grave dirt by esama (T, 92k, WangXian, canon divergence, yiling wei sect au, demonic cultivation, farming, found family, pre-slash, politics, fix-it of sorts)

while covered in mud by merthurlin (T, 12k, NHS & WWX, NHS & NMJ, NHS & Wen remnants, mentioned wangxian, canon divergence, fix-it, NHS goes farming and Hates It)

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2. Hi! I could have sworn there were reaction fics where both the older wangxian and younger wangxian were there but I can't find any right now, could you help me?

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3. Hi!!!!! Itmf request for any fics where LWJ is uber powerful and pampers the hell out of WWX but the focus isn't on smut? I don't mind sex being included,I just don't want it to be 90% of the fic or the driving plot point! Thank you!!! <3

我的皇后是農民 | sowing seeds in the cold palace by sweetlolixo (E, 84k, WangXian, Imperial Palace, Emperor LWJ, Imperial Consort WWX, Farmer WWX, Angst, Romance, Wingman LJY, Wife-chasing-LWJ, Arranged Marriage, Best Boy A-Yuan)

願陛下 | by his majesty's decree by sweetlolixo (E, 40k, WangXian, Imperial Palace, Emperor LWJ, Concubine WWX, Harems, Pining LWJ, LWJ is not a dragon in this one but he descended from them :), Childhood Sweethearts (sort of), Romance, minimal angst, Happy Ending, NHS & WWX are concubine BFFs, LWJ has NO EYES for anyone besides WWX don’t worry the harem is only for the plot setting, Fantasy, Pregnant WWX, Possessive LWJ, Fluff)

To Deliver an Heir by cerbykerby (E, 49k, WangXian, slight dubcon/noncon but wangxian are into it, A/B/O, Alpha LWJ, Omega WWX, Heat Sex, Knotting, Royalty Medical, Emperor LWJ, Physician WWX, Mpreg, Postpartum Depression, Breeding, Creampie, LWJ literally cannot stop himself from coming in WWX, Breastfeeding)

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4. Any good outside pov fics? ITMF any fic where a character sees wangxian's bond or is surprised at how much wwx can get away with irt the rules with lwj. Just... Idrc about the plot, I just wanna see some reactions to wangxian lol! Preferably not a modern or no cultivation au tho, I love the canon universe too much!!

pitfalls of greed by glitteringmoonlight (T, 3k, WangXian, POV Outsider, BAMF WWX, Kidnapping, Violence, YLLZ WWX, not exactly but the vibes are there, Post-Canon)

The following are time travel fics but involve outsiders being astonished by Wei Wuxian & Lan Wangji's behavior towards each other

trouble with time by cloudpd (T, 5k, WangXian, Time Travel, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, POV Outsider, Humor, POV JC, he's so fed up with wangxian, rightfully so, wangxian are shameless, kind of crack, JC's inner dialogue for this whole fic is just: what the fuck, POV LXC, because LXC deserves to be subjected to gross wangxian as well!!, the third chapter is LJY going "WWX rights!!", and that's all im going to say about that, horny wangxian time travel: the thrilling conclusion)

Wait, What? by MarbleGlove (G, 1k, WangXian, Time Travel, POV Outsider)

the world is but a stage for the two of us by MandMandM (Not Rated, 10k, WIP, WangXian, Time Travel, Established Relationship, Shameless WangXian)

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5. Hello, can i get wangxian fic recs where meng yao is a good guy and close friends with wei wuxian? canonverse, modern day, etc doesn't matter. I'd also love wangxian recs where they adopt jingyi please <3

Meng Yao becomes more like a brother to Wei Ying than a close friend so I hope these are okay:

what builds a home by Stratisphyre (T, 45k, WangXian, MY & WWX, Canon Divergence, Adopted WWX, POV Multiple, warning for JGS behaving exactly as expected, child endangerment, Brother Feels, Minor Character Death, [Podfic] Cold read of "what builds a home" by Stratisphyre by KeriArentikaiPods (KeriArentikai))

and

Debts of a Child Part 2 by Hauntcats (M, 111k, WangXian, YZY Bashing, Not Jiang Family Friendly, Angst and Feels, lots of anger, JC Bashing, not Jiang friendly, Angst with a Happy Ending, Content warning for icky spiders in later chapters., hurt no comfort for Jiang siblings.) (link in 8C)

Meng Yao vs. the Board of the Homeowner's Association Series by Ariaste (M/T, 119k, WIP, XiYao, WangXian, Modern AU, Established Relationship, xiyao and wangxian are both already married, Family Feels, Domestic Fluff, Family Bonding, Slice of Life, Discussions of Past Trauma, wwx's canonical kinks, HOAverse)

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6. Hello! I finished reading Digging Graves by nirejseki so i am itmf any fics where someone asks/begs wei wuxian to bring someone back to life/turn someone they loved who died into a fierce corpse. Thanks :D

some good mistakes by Lise (T, 18k, WangXian, JC & WWX, Post-Canon, Road trips, rescue Missions, Hurt/Comfort, Awkward Conversations, Yunmeng Bros Reconciliation, [Podfic] some good mistakes by kisahawklin)

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7. Hi! for the next itmf, i was wondering if there are any fics where wei wuxian gets his core back after giving it to jiang cheng? not him cultivating a new core but getting his original core back

i just find that idea fascinating. thank you for your help always!!

A Child’s Wish by Hauntcats (Not rated, 13k, wangxian, WWX & Wen remnants, Celestial meddling, Not JC Friendly, Fix-It, Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Everyone gets what they deserve, Age Regression/De-Aging, Child LWJ)

💖 Return to Sender by Thesaurus_with_no_words (M, 73k, WIP, WangXian, Canon Divergence, BAMF WWX , WangXian Get a Happy Ending, YLLZ WWX, Golden Core Transfer Fix-It, Not Everyone Dies, canon JC characteristics, Temporary Amnesia, Partial Memory Loss, Literal Emotional Manipulation, Unreliable Narrator, Unreliable Narrator WWX, they are all unreliable ok, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon typical horror and gore, Slow Burn)

The Core Issue by Hauntcats (T, 21k, WangXian, Angst with a Happy Ending, Not JC Friendly, Canon Divergence)

Can’t Tell Me Nothin by natacup82 (T, 35k, wangxian, Canon Divergence, Everybody Lives, Family Feels, Communication, BAMF Women)

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8. Hello! itmf these three types of fics:

A) canonverse, Madam Lan lives, wangxian (i didnt know madam lan lives was a tag now I need to see how her existence in canon can change the storyline and wangxian as a whole)

B) Yiling Wei Sect fics (could be wangxian or other wei wuxian M/M ships)

C) Fics where Wei Wuxian takes disciples (whether as Yiling Wei sect Yiling Patriarch or any other reason... preferably xue yang or mo xuanyo)

8A)

💖 An Unexpected Visitor by Hauntcats (G, 8k, QHJ/Madam Lan, wangxian, fix-it of sorts, not Jiang friendly, not jin friendly, happy ending)

Every Mother's Son by Chrononautical (T, 11k, WangXian, Madam Lán Lives, Madam Lán Deserves Better, Madam Lán Leaves Cloud Recesses, Madam Lan rescues women from abusive husbands in feudal Japan and honestly that's so valid of her, mentions of rape/non-con between Madam Lan & Qingheng-Jun)

no step had trodden black by Stratisphyre (T, 32k, wangxian, LQR & WWX, JYL/JZX, canon divergence, madam lan lives, past rape, golden core reveal, hurt/Comfort, referenced to attempted suicide & suicidal thoughts, canon-typical violence)

8B)

🔒 a star called sun by thelastdboy (E, 120k, wangxian, SL/XXC, JC & JYL & WWX, JYL & LWJ, WWX & WN & WQ, JYL/JZX, Canon Divergence after Xuanwu Cave, Fall of Lotus Pier, But worse!, Power Imbalance, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Not Everyone Dies AU, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Canon-Typical Violence, Sunshot Campaign, Miscommunication, Heavy Angst with a Happy Ending, Slow Burn, Major Character Injury, Loss of Limbs, Chronic Illness, Seizures, WWX’s Three Months in the Burial Mounds, Wēn Remnants Live, Wēn Remnants Deserve Better, WWX Creates a Sect | Yílíng Wèi Sect, Additional Warnings In Author’s Note, Hurt/Comfort, Selectively Mute LWJ, Service Animals, Crows)

body and soul by TooSel (E, 41k, wangxian, Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Marriage Proposal, Everyone Lives AU, Cultivation Sect Politics, Yílíng Wèi Sect AU, Adoption, Smut, Friends to Lovers, Angst with a Happy Ending)

Grave dirt by esama (T, 92k, WangXian, canon divergence, yiling wei sect au, demonic cultivation, farming, found family, pre-slash, politics, fix-it of sorts)

💖🔒 love, in fire and blood by cicer (E, 360k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, YLLZ WWX, Arranged Marriage, political scheming, Gratuitous Domesticity, Mutual Pining, EXTREME SLOWBURN, the inherent eroticism of the forehead ribbon, The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known, neither wwx nor lwj want to be Perceived, but sorry kids! it’s gonna happen!, rated E but the the NSFW stuff doesn’t begin until chapter 19!, bottom LWJ in chapter 20 and 27, Mojo’s post)

Run Off The World by Sapphire_Roses (M, 302k, wangxian, JYL/JZX, SL/XXC, WIP, Not Everyone Dies AU, Canon Divergence, Wen Remnants Live, Flashbacks, YLLZ WWX, WWX Creates a Sect | Yiling Wei Sect, Sect Leader WWX, Married WangXian, OCs, POV Outsider, Morally Grey Characters, (Do Take That Tag Seriously), Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Family Feels, Developing Friendships, Fluff, Attempt at Humor, Yunmeng Siblings Feels, Gusu Siblings Feels, Sibling Bonding, Pining, Character Study, Tenderness, Mild Smut, POV Alternating, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Minor Character Death) link in #8C

the sea meets the moon-blanched land by rkivees (G, 44k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, YLLZ WWX, Canon-Typical Violence, Developing Relationship, Childhood Trauma, Sect Leader WWX, BAMF WWX, BAMF LWJ, BAMF WQ, Good Parent LQR, First Love, Love Confessions, minor jiang sibs appearance, Mentioned LXC, Past Child Abuse, Drunken Shenanigans, Past Violence, No Golden Core Transfer, Non-Linear Narrative)

8C)

Debts of a Child Part 2 by Hauntcats (M, 111k, WangXian, YZY Bashing, Not Jiang Family Friendly, Angst and Feels, lots of anger, JC Bashing, not Jiang friendly, Angst with a Happy Ending, Content warning for icky spiders in later chapters., hurt no comfort for Jiang siblings.)

Run Off The World by Sapphire_Roses (M, 302k, wangxian, JYL/JZX, SL/XXC, WIP, Not Everyone Dies AU, Canon Divergence, Wen Remnants Live, Flashbacks, YLLZ WWX, WWX Creates a Sect | Yiling Wei Sect, Sect Leader WWX, Married WangXian, OCs, POV Outsider, Morally Grey Characters, (Do Take That Tag Seriously), Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Family Feels, Developing Friendships, Fluff, Attempt at Humor, Yunmeng Siblings Feels, Gusu Siblings Feels, Sibling Bonding, Pining, Character Study, Tenderness, Mild Smut, POV Alternating, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Minor Character Death)

🔒necromancy is a valid career path! Series by coslyons, Skadiseven (T, 41k, WangXian, XY & WWX & WN & WQ, Modern with Magic AU, Seattle, Necromancy, Found Family, Food as a Metaphor for Love, Gardens & Gardening, Mathematics, Running, Growing up)

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9. Heyo, this is for ITMF!

Can you rec any fics that have WWX return to his old body? Can be post-canon or during canon after his resurrection. I wanna see how people react to him being in his Glorious Beautiful Sexy self :>

Transcend by covalentbonds (not rated, 7k, WIP, WangXian, Post-Canon, Fluff and Humor, Smut, YLLZ WWX is prettiest fight me) features Wei Ying transforming into his original body and being lusted after.

Tripped at Every Step by brooklinegirl (E, 28k, WangXian) These

the hidden source is the watchful heart by o_honeybees (E, 10k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Getting Together, Domesticity, Touch-Starved, Grief/Mourning, Misunderstandings, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Unresolved Sexual Tension,Eventual Smut, reflections on selfishness and selflessness) fics

This House of Ill Repute by Jo Lasalle (Jo_Lasalle) (M, 13k, WangXian, First Time, Post-Canon, Getting Together) also have Wei Ying in his original body but it's not the focus of the story

Saw My Life in a Stranger's Face by timetoboldlygo (T, 27k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Established Relationship, Married Life, Domestic Fluff, Light Angst, wwx's face changes post-canon to look like his original face, Slight Panic Attack, because lwj doesn't recognize his husband, the mortifying ordeal of not knowing your own body, the terrifying inevitability of change, taller!wwx theory)

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10. hello! thank you for the work you do.. do you have recs for novel canon only (no cql) fics?

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11. hello this is for itmf! do you have any fics where sizhui remembers wei wuxian after the fever/doesn't lose his early memories, or lan wangji making the effort to talk about wei wuxian to sizhui? thank you!

although my mind is young, it is not gentle by everythingispoetry ( T, 27k, Canon Divergence, Hurt/Comfort, Disability, Parenthood, Growing Up, Family Dynamics, Character Study, Self-Discovery) Sizhui doesn't really know who he remembers about but there are moments of him remembering wei wuxian through dreams

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12. I was rewatching the show recently and got to the scene where the Lan juniors and LWJ all stood in front of WWX when Jin Ling approached him in the caves after the stabbing. I was wondering for ITMF if there were any fics where the juniors are protective of WWX? Preferably if Sizhui is a prominent character in the fics, but I'll take any junior being protective tbh. Thank you!

🧡 the stone-filled sea by yukla (T, 9k, WangXian, LSZ & WWX, Post-Canon, senior wei defense squad, a study of the way prejudice and injustice and anger trickle down from generation to generation)

bespoke by cafecliche (G, 3k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Fluff, LSZ is a very good boy, which is specifically a tag for the fic but also just true in general, mostly novel-compliant but could easily be CQL-compliant too)

🔒 The Absolutely True Story of the Yiling Patriarch: A Manifesto in Many Parts by aubreyli (T, 19k, WangXian, In-Universe RPF, Romance Novel, LJY’s sense of justice, OYZZ’s sense of romance, Featuring a surprise appearance by WWX’s oft-absent sense of shame, Look the ducklings just want their sort-of dads to be happy okay?, And it’s not like WWX or LWJ are doing a good job of ensuring their own happiness, LJY rejects canon reality and substitutes his own, highly relatable actually, Post-Canon Fix-It, primarily drama-canon with cameos from novel-canon, Podfic Available, Russian Translation Available)

one of our own by glitteringmoonlight (G, 7k, WangXian, Post-Canon, POV Outsider, 5+1 Things) has Lan Jingyi, as well as other Lans, standing up for Wei Ying.

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13. Wwx as royal prince with hidden identity

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14. Wwx gets badly hurt while protecting jzx during jl 100 day celebration

the breaking of your soul (upon my lips) by sunsandships (M, 40k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Mutual Pining, Golden Core Reveal, Happy Ending) Wei Ying gets badly injured at Qiongqi Path while protecting Jin Zixuan in chapter 8 but Wei Ying was escorting betrothal gifts from the Jin, rather than attending Jin Ling's celebration.

Cradle by Dragonesque (T, 196k, WIP, Canon Divergenc, Adopted children, Yiling Wei Sect, BAMF WWX) Wwx gets badly hurt while protecting jzx during jl 100 day celebration - cradle by dragonesque on ao3 (and its inspiration fic) both feature wwx getting badly hurt and origins of yiling wei sect

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15. I finished reading a wangxian oneshot in which lan xichen tries to get wei wuxian in his bed but fails and so...itmf lan xichen/wei wuxian, nie mingjue/wei wuxian, wen ruohan/wei wuxian fic recs. Preferably complete with bottom wei wuxian if they have smut. Thank you!!

The Joke of Fate by ShallChair (E, 357k, LXC/WWX, Canon Divergence, Marriage First Love Later, Love at First Sleep, Smut, First Time, First Kiss, the Flower Banquet's timeline is before Baifeng Mountain hunt so, Comedy, a little bit humor in the lines, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, The man who succeeds in both Love and Career-LXC, Dark LXC, Dark LWJ, The Dark side mean "Fuck off Cultivation World!", The Exchange of Fate, LXC-centric, DoubleJade centric, The one who stands against the world-LXC; A/B/O, Alpha LXC, Omega WWX, Alpha LWJ, Mpreg, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mating Bites, Scenting, Historical, Royalty, Arranged Marriage, Slight Drama, Bad Parent YZY, Cultivation Empire, Alpha NHS, Older NHS, The flustered Alpha and the handsome Omega, Half Lime Half Plot, YLLZ era, YLLZ WWX, The Thirsty LXC, Martial Arts AU, Wuxia AU, General WWX, Emperor LXC, Qianyuan, Kunze, Zhongyong, Enemy to lover, Concubine WWX, BAMF WWX, Precognitive Dream, the Second elopement, Wen Remnants Live, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Intervention From the Outside World, Teleportation, Sunshot Campaign, Those Days When LXC Chased After YLLZ All Over the Central Plain)

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16. itmf some wwx & jzx bonding similar to 'watch what we'll become' by glitteringmoonlight modern/canon/au it doesn't matter just give me that sweet sweet friendship/brotherly bonding

🧡 Stunted, Starving Juvenility by TomatenMark (E, 828k, WangXian, WIP, Fix-it of sorts, Talisman master WWX, Not JFM Friendly, Study Arc, Getting together, Fluff and Angst, Engagement)

atlas in his sleepin’ by anatheme (E, 48k, WangXian, XuanLi, Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Reincarnation, Family Reunions, Dimension Travel, temporary transmigration, Transmigrator!LWJ, Yunmeng Shuangjie Reconciliation, jzx motherhenning wwx, First Time, Sharing Clothes, Angst with a Happy Ending, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies)

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17. itmf a fic where wangxian get horny about "ruining" a hole. You know, there's penetration, or a lot of penetration, and the body is different afterwards. Idc who bottoms, omegaverse, consent, whatever. But no underage please. Thanks!

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If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

[eleanorfenyxwrites]

You Are Of Their Ilk - Sequel to 'You Need Tending'

[1]

Part 2

[Masterpost]

--

The rest of the morning that’s spent in Lotus Pier is, thankfully, undisturbed. A servant brings Wangji and Xichen their neatly packed belongings, which Lan Qiren tucks into his already-packed qiankun pouch next to Wei Ying’s old clothes and the letters that are the boy’s only birthright; the healers go about their business around them as they eat breakfast in silence; and when everything’s finished and they officially have no business left in Yunmeng, Lan Qiren gathers up the children to leave.

They do so with no fanfare, but as they pass through the main courtyard to the doors just as the Jiang sect is beginning to stir for the day, Lan Qiren spots a small, curious face peeking at them from behind the safety of a nearby building. He pauses just long enough for the young Jiang heir to realize he’s been spotted and hurry to hide again before he turns his attention back to the task at hand.

When they reach the city, it’s still relatively quiet. People are beginning to open their shops for the day and fishermen down on the docks are calling to each other, bringing in the first catch of the day, but other than that there’s not too much bustle. He glances back at Wangji to gauge how he’s doing with that level of noise - they’re still trying to feel out how much is too much for him to handle in the hopes of avoiding any further incidents where he goes running off to protect himself - and he’s startled to see that Wei Ying has plastered himself to Wangji’s side to hold his hand and talk and giggle at him from behind the shield of his free hand. Lan Qiren turns a questioning look on Xichen but finds that his older nephew is watching the pair with a little smile, something akin to joy lighting up his features. It’s been a very long time - too long - since he’s seen his nephew smile like that.

Lan Qiren shakes his head a bit but decides not to comment, rather he focuses on getting the children safely to the docks and onto the boat that will take them up the river towards Caiyi. Wei Ying spends the first few li of their journey darting up and down the boat exclaiming over this and that - there isn’t a thing he sees that doesn’t meet his eager approval, something which his three companions..aren’t quite sure how to handle. Even the boatman at the rudder can’t seem to do more than chuckle quietly at the boy’s antics as he leans over the edge of the boat to watch the oar cut through the water or track the glimmer of scales under the water as fish dart around them.

“Wei Ying,” Lan Qiren cautions sharply when the boy leans so far out of the boat Lan Qiren’s heart threatens to jump up into his throat. The last thing he wants is to have to fish the boy out of the water, especially since he doesn’t know if he can swim or not. And though he means the simple caution to be just that, a reminder to be careful, Wei Ying suddenly jerks back from the water and sits down so quickly there’s a thunk as his rump meets the wood, eyes wide and guilty in the second their gazes meet before he drops his eyes to his hands in his lap. Lan Qiren clears his throat a little and tries not to feel guilty as Wei Ying folds in on himself instantly, becoming so self-contained he almost looks like a different child. “It is not safe to lean so far out of the boat, you could fall. You must be more careful.”

“Yes, Master Lan,” he replies dutifully, earnestly, and Lan Qiren’s heart - surprisingly active today - breaks a little for the naked emotions in the boy’s voice. He sounds far guiltier than the situation demands as well as eager to agree with what he’s being told, eager to obey, and while Lan Qiren thoroughly appreciates obedience and carefully cultivates it in his nephews, his stomach turns a little as he thinks about just how and why Wei Ying, as a half-feral street child, has learned to behave similarly. He thinks about Wei Ying doing whatever he’s told by adults in exchange for a few scraps of food, or to protect himself from being hit, or to avoid being chased down by dogs, or any number of other unsavory reactions people may have had to a young boy who is simply the same sort of carefree and high-spirited person his mother had once been.

And he thinks about how if the circumstances were only slightly different he may have one day become one of the adults in the boy’s life demanding this crushing obedience of him.

“A-Ying,” Xichen calls, his voice kind where Lan Qiren’s had been cutting, and Wei Ying glances up at him through his lashes. “Would you like to come sit with A-Zhan?” The change is instantaneous - Wei Ying’s entire face lights up in a smile (though it is still perhaps a bit dimmer than the grin he’d just worn as he had been jumping around) and he stands immediately to walk carefully back down the length of the boat where he can settle into the space next to Wangji.

The rest of the day’s trip on the river is thankfully relatively uneventful, which Lan Qiren is inclined to privately thank Wangji’s unnaturally quick reflexes for. Wei Ying doesn’t run up and down the length of the boat again, but he does eventually open up enough to return to eagerly watching the fish, and though he doesn’t always remember not to lean too far out of the boat Wangji is always quick to grab the back of his shirt when he leans too far, his little face concerned and serious each time he keeps Wei Ying upright. Lan Qiren actually begins to wonder if asking Wangji to keep an eye on the other boy is perhaps too much to ask of a seven year old, but he’s pretty sure the tantrum Wangji would throw if told to part from Wei Ying would be..quite a sight, and he’ll admit that he doesn’t want to deal with that. Wangji’s biting phase has only just ended, after all, and he’s not exactly keen on giving him a reason to pick the habit up again.

They eat their afternoon meal on the water and Lan Qiren keeps a careful eye on Wei Ying. He knows that they’ll have to do something about his table manners sooner rather than later, particularly before he’ll be expected to eat with the rest of the students his age, but for now he’s just pleased to see him eating his fill.

They stop for the night in a small town from which they’ll continue on foot in the morning. They’re close enough to Cloud Recesses now that the journey won’t take too long, and Lan Qiren would like to use the bit of extra time they’ll spend on the road to begin teaching Wei Ying the things he’ll need to know to begin living in their home.

Barring the unintentional discipline incident, Lan Qiren has seen little of the behavioral differences Healer Xingfu had warned him to watch for. That all changes almost as soon as they step foot on the docks of the town they’re stopping in.

It’s not so different from the docks in Yunmeng at first glance, but it’s still somewhere new, and while Xichen and Wangji are accustomed to traveling by now - and have in fact seen this town once or twice whether or not they remember it - and are therefore fine in new places as long as they’re not left alone too long, it’s immediately clear that Wei Ying doesn’t have the same ability to be at ease somewhere he doesn’t know like the back of his hand like he does Yunmeng.

It’s equally clear, however, that he’s not used to being soothed when he’s afraid.

That he is afraid isn’t even a question - he keeps his hands tucked under his arms and his shoulders hunched as he walks at Wangji’s side, darting furtive glances around at every person who passes them by. But though he seems perfectly eager to hold Wangji’s hand whenever necessary to offer him his support and comfort, he makes no move to reach out and receive the same treatment in return. It’s not until Lan Qiren himself steps forward to rest a hand on the back of his head that Wei Ying relaxes enough to stand up straight and tip his head back to look up at him with those wide, shockingly silver eyes of his.

“We will not linger here long,” Lan Qiren informs him steadily. “We are resting here through the night so we may continue our travel in the morning. You do not need to be afraid.”

Wei Ying nods and faces forward again, and after a long moment Lan Qiren feels his tiny hand curl into a fist in the skirt of his outer robe, keeping him at the boy’s side. A minor victory, but the situation on the whole only worsens when they reach the inn. They’re met almost immediately by the innkeeper - the town is small enough that three Lan cultivators passing through creates something of a stir so the man is already waiting for them as they approach - and Wei Ying bodily flinches back from the man’s attention when it turns to him. Lan Qiren says nothing, mostly because he’s suddenly realizing he may be out of his depth with this after all, and just gathers Wei Ying closer to his side so the boy can bury his face in the side of his thigh. He spends roughly three seconds trying to figure out how he’s going to walk like that before he relents and bends down to just scoop Wei Ying up into his arms again like he had the previous night on the way back to Lotus Pier. Wei Ying promptly burrows in and clings, trembling like the most delicate of flower blossoms in a spring storm.

Lan Qiren doesn’t know exactly what happened to make him so afraid of being spoken to by an innkeeper, but he doesn’t have to. He can make enough inferences and assumptions from what little he knows of Wei Ying’s life to piece together a few possibilities, and none of them are reassuring. He instructs the innkeeper that they’ll be taking their evening meal in their room rather than in the main dining area, and if Wangji and Xichen are confused by the change in their usual pattern of eating amongst others when they travel, then they’re tactful enough not to mention it in public.

The three of them troop upstairs - with Wei Ying still hiding in Lan Qiren’s shoulder - and retire to a room outfitted simply and economically with a pair of beds, a table, and little else. Lan Qiren sits on the edge of one of the beds to try to coax Wei Ying out, but in the end it takes Wangji stepping forward to reach out and curl his fingers around Wei Ying’s tightly-clenched fist to get him to let go, and even then it’s still the work of a few more minutes of quiet encouragements from both Lan Qiren and Xichen paired with Wangji’s steady presence to get Wei Ying calmed down enough to stand on his own two feet.

Another small victory, for which Lan Qiren is grateful.

After their dinner is finished and extra blankets and pillows have been brought, Lan Qiren decides he’s going to have to stop trying to count the victories where socializing Wei Ying is concerned, or at least stop letting his guard down after each one.

As Xichen and Wangji remove their ribbons with their usual care and begin coming their hair for bed, he watches Wei Ying look around the space and promptly snag the pillow nearest him and dart over to lie down on the floor in the corner of the room diagonally opposite from the door.

“Wei Ying,” he calls, this time careful to keep his voice perfectly neutral to hopefully avoid making the boy feel that he’s being chastised. “What are you doing?”

“Xichen-gege said it’s time for sleep,” he replies, sounding nonplussed. “Oh...Right,” he adds guiltily, taking the pillow out from under his head and going up on his knees to place it back on the bed he’d snatched it from - and then he returns to his corner with nothing but a pout that he seems to be trying to hide.

“A-Ying, you’re sharing one of the beds with A-Zhan,” Xichen says gently. “You do not have to sleep on the floor.”

Lan Qiren takes a slow, silent deep breath in to help him attempt to tamp down the confusing whirl of emotions in his chest. Wei Ying looks shocked to be told such a thing, as if the idea that he would be expected - allowed - to sleep in a bed is so unbelievable that he hadn’t even considered it as a possibility, let alone the reality. Add to that the fact that rather than asking he had immediately assigned himself to the floor, and had resigned himself to doing it without pillow or blanket to soften the hardwood, and Lan Qiren is not alright.

He’s not alright.

He has to tuck it away for the children’s sake and he will, of course he will - but the weight of the last few years suddenly seems so heavy on his shoulders, and somehow it’s seeing Wei Ying attempting to navigate a world that has been nothing but cruel to him that has suddenly made him realize just how tired he is.

He watches Wangji - who has been utterly silent and solemn ever since the day he was informed he would no longer be able to visit his mother; who doesn’t yet understand death but understands that people he trusts can leave him forever - walk over and take gentle hold of Wei Ying’s arm to usher him over to the bed further from the door. And he watches Xichen, as kindly and gently as ever, pile their bed with all the extra blankets and pillows that had been brought in for them and watch attentively until Wei Ying sinks into the soft pile of it like he can hardly believe what he’s feeling.

And if, after the candles are blown out and the night is quiet, a few tears slide down his temples just before he follows the children into sleep, at least none of the boys are awake to see him.

----

When Lan Qiren wakes the following morning in the deep blue of pre-dawn, he glances over at the bed on the other side of the room only to frown in confusion. Something about it doesn’t look quite right, but it takes a moment for his waking mind to catch up to what it is. There’s only one figure in the bed, and it’s Wangji.

He has a few breathless moments to hope that he’ll be able to find Wei Ying before either of the other boys wake up, but they’re just as good about their sleep schedules as he could ever hope for and within moments Wangji is sitting up to scrub at his eyes while Xichen is doing the same beside him. Lan Qiren watches as Wangji pauses and then glances down at Wei Ying’s empty spot beside him and he’s already standing by the time Wangji begins frantically pawing through the blankets as if he’ll find Wei Ying hiding in the pile of them.

As Lan Qiren begins lighting the candles around the room again to aid in their search, he decides that when they get back to Cloud Recesses none of them are leaving it again for a long, long time. He’s had quite enough of losing children in unfamiliar places for a while, and Wei Ying will need time to acclimate to life on the mountain anyway. There’s nothing that Xichen needs to know about running the sect and diplomacy with the other sect leaders that he can’t learn just as well from books and careful study of discussion conferences that are held in their home. There’s no need to keep trotting him around to the various cities, and certainly no need for Wangji and Wei Ying to come along. No more misplacing children, he’s had enough.

“Xichen, keep Wangji here, I will go look for Wei Ying and return soon,” he instructs as he puts on his outer robes more quickly than he thinks he ever has before. He’s out the door immediately after, heading downstairs to search for an innkeeper or a servant or anyone who could possibly be of help. The place is absolutely silent and still at this time of morning and he sighs, the only outward sign of frustration that he’s willing to allow in public even if he is utterly alone. He looks quickly around the public space of the inn but finds neither head nor tail of Wei Ying and so he steps outside next into the back courtyard containing the stables. A quick scan of the stables themselves as well as all the possible hiding spaces around the exterior of the building yield him nothing, and a more thorough check reveals the same - nothing.

The world comes awake around him as he searches, the dawn filling the sky with streaks of pink and gold and a lovely powdery blue. Mist drifts up from the dew-jeweled grass, and birds begin twittering in the trees. It’s a beautiful morning, the sort that always sets his heart and mind at ease, but Lan Qiren has never felt less capable of appreciating it than he does now. He’s only glad of the golden light of the sun in that it will help him find Wei Ying in case he’s trying to hide in one of the deep shadows that are quickly lightening into shades of blue-gray rather than deep black where it would be far too easy for a small child to hide.

He’s aware of each minute that passes as he searches and it’s doubly stressful in that he needs to find Wei Ying but he can’t abandon Wangji and Xichen to their own devices for too long, not in a strange town in an inn full of people they don’t know. It’s the thought of either of them venturing downstairs and finding further trouble that spurs him to return to the inn, his eyes seeking out every little flash of movement he sees in the hopes that it’s Wei Ying as he goes.

He makes it all the way back to their room without even a hint of success, but when he opens the door all the fight goes out of him. In the new sunlight streaming through the windows at the back of the room he can see, clearly silhouetted, a huddled form under the bed on which Wangji and Xichen are stiffly perched in a poor imitation of meditation.

“Xichen, Wangji,” he says and the boys give up on their pretense instantly to hurry to their feet and join him, their nearly identical gazes frightened as they look up at him. “He is under the bed you shared with him, Wangji,” Lan Qiren says with a gesture that Wangji immediately follows, eyes wide as he turns. “Go check on him to make sure he is unharmed.”

Lan Qiren lifts his arm to wrap it around Xichen’s shoulders when the boy tentatively wraps his arms around his waist and he holds him steady as Wangji approaches the bed to kneel down (Lan Qiren tries and fails not to let it remind him of how many times he’s caught the boy kneeling outside the empty Jingshi) and then bend further to reach one small arm beneath the bed and poke at Wei Ying’s huddled form.

There’s a bit of sleepy mumbling and then a quick rustle followed by a thud that makes even Lan Qiren wince slightly.

“Oh dear,” Xichen tuts in quiet sympathy.

“Ow,” Wei Ying whines from the shadowed hollow under the bed and Wangji leans further in to keep reaching for him. “A-Zhan? Are you okay? What’s wrong? You look scared again! Did you have nightmares last night too?”

Lan Qiren can’t quite resist raising his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose in a rare show of emotion, his eyes shut as Wei Ying keeps tossing yes or no questions at Wangji to try to figure out what’s going on. Xichen finally takes pity on them both and steps away from Lan Qiren’s side to join Wangji in coaxing Wei Ying out from under the bed and informing him - very kindly - that they were worried for him and that that’s why Wangji looks so scared.

And Wei Ying laughs. Lan Qiren opens his eyes again to find that his nephews have finally succeeded in getting Wei Ying out into the open, where he stands hunched in on himself and laughing, but it only takes one glance at his face to see that he doesn’t think it’s funny. He’s nervous, and Lan Qiren realizes abruptly that he must have inherited his mother’s tendency to laugh at anything and everything, whether it was appropriate for the situation or not.

Thankfully the laughter is cut off abruptly by Wangji locking his arms around Wei Ying’s bony frame in a vice grip, clearly relieved to have found him again, and once again Lan Qiren is viscerally reminded that at just seven years old both of these boys know far too much about what it means to be left behind. Forever.

The vague notions he had been entertaining of having Wei Ying taken care of by another family upon reaching Cloud Recesses are immediately set quietly aside to make room for his new acceptance that he will be raising three children, none of whom are his own but all of whom he’s prepared to love as if they were. Of course he’s had much longer with his nephews and so he already has plenty of practice in this, but it’s not difficult at all to imagine folding Wei Ying into their strange unit as well.

The elders are going to have a field day.